Fish oil won't produce smart baby: study

Taking fish oil supplements during pregnancy will not guarantee the child will go on to be a Rhodes scholar later in life.

According to a new Australian study taking DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) supplements - an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils - while pregnant does not lead to children with higher IQs.

Scientists at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute in Adelaide compared women given a daily dose of 800mg of docosaheaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in fatty fish, during the second half of their pregnancies with those given a placebo.

The randomised control trial found no improvements in cognitive, language, and motor development at 18 months after birth, according to the findings published in the JAMA journal.

The researchers also didn't find any improvements in general intelligence, language, and executive functioning at age four and again at age seven.

In fact, kids of mums given the supplements tended to be "naughtier" and less mentally capable in terms of executive functioning, although the negative effects were small, said the researchers.

Of the 543 children who participated in the seven-year follow-up, the average IQ of the DHA and control groups did not differ, with the groups scoring 98.31and 97.32 points respectively.